The moisture added from tallow is a great idea and not knocking it at all. Jeremy could totally be onto something, but I personally haven’t seen enough evidence to say the secret is tallow. I have asked Joe Yim and Max (Texicana BBQ) directly about the tallow, both have said consistency. The videos people reference from Max aren’t brisket videos. The video everyone alludes to is beef ribs and he specifically says he adds it to crisp up the surface. People have said that Franklin has all those scraps. He has said in multiple venues that he uses it to season his smokers, lube hinges and also for sausage. I have seen videos where a pitmaster at Franklin’s uses the same bottle for brisket that he is using on pork butt and spare ribs. Franklin has even mentioned in his Masterclass that he uses ACV on everything just simply so he isn’t switching bottles.
I am no brisket expert and am not claiming to be, but if we are measuring the method Franklin uses by wet butcher paper and moist meat then there are other factors to consider in my opinion. 1) Franklin/Max/Joe Yim and others spray the paper with ACV very liberally which leads to the butcher paper being moist. 2) Straight from a Franklin pitmasters mouth, she said they get placed in a humid room to rest before being placed in the food warmer which is also a humid environment. 3) meat quality is a huge factor. Franklin changed the game when he used high grade meat, when typical was what BBQ joints could get their hands on the and would be good profit margins. Some joints don’t even use brisket, but use beef shoulder due to it being so cheap and getting a great product.
I bought a food warmer after my trip to Franklin’s and talking with the pitmaster, because I believe it’s the hold that is a factor into great brisket. Just from my experiments on rest times I have found the longer the hold the better, more moist the brisket is and soaked the butcher paper is also. I learned from Max that there is a window with holding brisket because I tried pushing one for 22+ hours and it turned the first part of the flat into jerky. Max says 5-12 is ideal with 17 being the maximum.
Just my 2 cents on this topic. Franklin has mastered his craft and studies things that we probably don’t even think about, like he mentions in some interviews that they had to adjust their cooking temp based on the meat being drier and tighter due to the cows enduring the drought. He pays a lot more attention to the small details that we can’t even comprehend.
Yes his pitmasters might sign a non-disclosure agreement, but the streets eventually talk.
The brisket really was one of the greatest things ive ever eaten when I had it. Maybe the whole experience helps the memory but that brisket.....Id travel for it.
